A/HRC/42/55 16. The Expert Mechanism informs the Human Rights Council that the proposal for an international decade of indigenous languages has also been put forward by the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, and is supported by the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples, the International Steering Committee for the International Year of Indigenous Languages, which consists of representatives of indigenous peoples and Member States, and OHCHR. Proposal 3: Increased engagement of Member States and coordination between the mechanisms of indigenous peoples and the treaty bodies with the Expert Mechanism 17. The Expert Mechanism proposes that the Human Rights Council urge States to engage more actively with its activities and in particular to attend and participate in its annual sessions, with a view to taking part in dialogue as a core element of its amended mandate. 18. The Expert Mechanism also proposes to the Human Rights Council that it encourage States to make use of its mandate to provide technical assistance for and facilitation of dialogue, including for the implementation of recommendations pertaining to indigenous peoples from the universal periodic review, the treaty bodies and the special procedures. 19. In that regard, the Expert Mechanism further proposes that the Human Rights Council recognize the coordination efforts between the mechanisms working on the rights of indigenous peoples and the treaty bodies, including the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Human Rights Committee, which are increasingly using the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to inform their work and their application of treaties in the context of indigenous peoples. 20. The Expert Mechanism also proposes to the Human Rights Council that it acknowledge the establishment of the new mechanism on indigenous peoples and climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Proposal 4: Promotion of the country engagement mandate of the Expert Mechanism 21. The Expert Mechanism proposes to the Human Rights Council that it encourage States and indigenous peoples to engage more proactively with it under its amended mandate, pursuant to Council resolution 33/25, including by submitting requests for technical assistance and dialogue facilitation. States should also be encouraged to respond positively to requests made by indigenous peoples under paragraphs 2 (c) and (e) of the resolution and seize the opportunity for dialogue provided by such requests. 22. The Expert Mechanism further proposes to the Human Rights Council that it acknowledge States and indigenous peoples that have already engaged with it under its amended mandate and made progress toward the realization of the aims of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Proposal 5: Protection of human rights defenders 23. The Expert Mechanism urges the Human Rights Council to call upon States to ensure that indigenous human rights defenders are guaranteed a safe working environment and security, and to review laws that criminalize the work of indigenous human rights defenders, in compliance with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other international standards. In the light of the information set out in its report on good practices and lessons learned on the tenth anniversary of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (A/HRC/36/56), the Mechanism proposes that the Council request States to ensure that all human rights violations against indigenous communities and human rights defenders, including indigenous women, are investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. 5